Éric Vigner (born October 27, 1960 in Rennes,

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

) is a French stage director, actor and scenic designer. He is directing the CDDB-Théâtre de

Lorient Lorient (; ) is a town ('' commune'') and seaport in the Morbihan department of Brittany in western France. History Prehistory and classical antiquity Beginning around 3000 BC, settlements in the area of Lorient are attested by the presen ...

, Centre Dramatique National from 1996 to 2015.

Biography

Éric Vigner graduated from the University of Brittany, France, in the visual arts. He then studied in Paris, at the National School of theatre art and techniques (ENSATT) and at the National Drama Academy CNSAD. His consecutive qualifications naturally led towards directorship. In 1990 he founded his own theater company SUZANNE M. Éric Vigner. In 1996 he was appointed by the

Minister of Culture (France) The Ministry of Culture (french: Ministère de la Culture) is the ministry of the Government of France in charge of national museums and the . Its goal is to maintain the French identity through the promotion and protection of the arts (visual ...

to direct Brittany's Drama Centre, henceforth called the CDDB-Théâtre de

. Since 1996 the graphic artists M/M Paris are in charge of the CDDB's visual communication. Besides Vigner's commitment to contemporary playwrights such as

Marguerite Duras Marguerite Germaine Marie Donnadieu (, 4 April 1914 – 3 March 1996), known as Marguerite Duras (), was a French novelist, playwright, screenwriter, essayist, and experimental filmmaker. Her script for the film '' Hiroshima mon amour'' (1959) e ...

and , for which he was awarded the honour of Chevalier dans l' Ordre des Arts et des Lettres in 1998, Vigner developed a new approach to the French classics - Racine's ''Bajazet'' (Comédie-Française 1995), Corneille's ''L’Illusion Comique'' (Théâtre Nanterre-Amandiers 1996), Victor Hugo's ''Marion De Lorme'' (Théâtre de la Ville 1999), Molière's ''L’École des femmes'' (Comédie-Française 1999) and ''Le Bourgeois gentilhomme'' (French-Korea cultural prize 2004) and Shakeapeare's ''Othello'' (Odéon – Théâtre de l’Europe 2008). In October 2010, Vigner founded his international theater Academy. ''The Academy'' follows the principles of a little democracy and assembles seven young trilingual actors from seven cultural backgrounds - Morocco, Romania, Mali, Belgium, South Korea, Germany, Israel. They work on classical as well as contemporary forms of writing and present ''La Place Royale'' by

Corneille Pierre Corneille (; 6 June 1606 – 1 October 1684) was a French tragedian. He is generally considered one of the three great seventeenth-century French dramatists, along with Molière and Racine. As a young man, he earned the valuable patronag ...

, ''Guantanamo'' by Frank Smith and ''La Faculté'' by Christophe Honoré. He has chosen a course as a pioneer, an "’inter-lingual" navigator, building on dramatic art as common ground. He developed international collaborations to last over the years, searching for a genuine mutual cultural transmission. He directed in different languages and cultural backgrounds: at the National Theater of Korea in Seoul, ''The Bourgeois Gentleman'' by

Molière Jean-Baptiste Poquelin (, ; 15 January 1622 (baptised) – 17 February 1673), known by his stage name Molière (, , ), was a French playwright, actor, and poet, widely regarded as one of the greatest writers in the French language and worl ...

and Jean-Baptiste Lully (French-Korean Cultural Prize 2004); twice at the National Theater of Albania, Tirana, 2007,''The Barber of Seville'' by

Beaumarchais Pierre-Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais (; 24 January 1732 – 18 May 1799) was a French polymath. At various times in his life, he was a watchmaker, inventor, playwright, musician, diplomat, spy, publisher, horticulturist, arms dealer, satirist, ...

(Price Festival Bharat Rang Mahotsav, Inde 2011), and 2016, ''Lucrezia Borgia'' by

Victor Hugo Victor-Marie Hugo (; 26 February 1802 – 22 May 1885) was a French Romantic writer and politician. During a literary career that spanned more than sixty years, he wrote in a variety of genres and forms. He is considered to be one of the great ...

(Festival Theatre National de Bretagne, France 2017); at 7 Stages Theater, Atlanta, 2008, ''In the Solitude of Cotton Fields'' by

Bernard-Marie Koltès Bernard-Marie Koltès (; 9 April 1948 – 15 April 1989) was a French playwright and theatre director best known for his plays ''La Nuit juste avant les Forêts'' (''The Night Just Before the Forests'', 1976), ''Sallinger'' (1977) and ''Dans la ...

(U.S. Koltès Project); in India, ''Gates to India Song'' based on ''The Vice Consul'' and ''India Song'' by

(Festival Bonjour India, Bombay, Calcutta, New-Delhi, 2013); at the Odeon Theatre in Bucharest, 2016, during Romania's campaign for Unesco's approval of The Wisdom of the Earth sculpture by Constantin Brâncuși, he staged the famous trial from 1928 - ''Brancusi versus the United States''.

Actor

*1983: ''L'Instruction'' by Peter Weiss, directed by Robert Angebaud, Church in Saint-Étienne, Rennes *1984: ''La mort de Pompée'' by Pierre Corneille, directed by Brigitte Jaques, Lierre-Théâtre, Paris *1985: ''Fantasio'' by Alfred de Musset, directed by Vincent Garanger, CNSAD, Paris *1985: '' Romeo and Juliet'' by

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's natio ...

, directed by René Jauneau, Festival de

Valréas Valréas (; oc, Vauriàs) is a commune in the Vaucluse department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in southeastern France. History The area around the town of Valréas is known as ''L'Enclave des Papes''. It is an enclave of Vaucluse ...

*1986: ''Elvire Jouvet 40'' directed by Brigitte Jaques, International Tour, film by Benoît Jacquot 1988 *1988: ''Chouans !'' Film by Philippe de Broca *1988: '' L'Épreuve'' by

Marivaux Pierre Carlet de Chamblain de Marivaux (4 February 1688 – 12 February 1763), commonly referred to as Marivaux, was a French playwright and novelist. He is considered one of the most important French playwrights of the 18th century, writing num ...

, directed by Jean-Pierre Miquel,

Festival d'Avignon The ''Festival d'Avignon'', or Avignon Festival, is an annual arts festival held in the French city of Avignon every summer in July in the courtyard of the Palais des Papes as well as in other locations of the city. Founded in 1947 by Jean Vila ...

*1989: ''Sophonisbe'' by Pierre Corneille, directed by Brigitte Jaques,

Théâtre national de Chaillot The Théâtre National de Chaillot (English: Chaillot National Theatre) is a theatre located in the Palais de Chaillot at 1, place du Trocadéro, in the 16th arrondissement of Paris. Close by the Eiffel Tower and the Trocadéro Gardens—the Th� ...

, Paris *1989: ''Horace'' by Pierre Corneille, directed by Brigitte Jaques, Théâtre national de Chaillot, Paris *1990: ''Le Misanthrope'' by

, directed by Christian Colin, Centre Dramatique National de

Gennevilliers Gennevilliers () is a commune in the northwestern suburbs of Paris, in the Hauts-de-Seine department of Île-de-France. It is located from the centre of Paris. In 2017, it had a population of 46,907. History On 9 April 1929, one-fifth of the ...

, Paris *2018: '' Plaire, aimer et courir vite'', film by Christophe Honoré

Theatre productions

"The theater which I am interested in develops a form for the spectator to project himself into, to reinvent himself. For me, theater is not a place to come to in order to get answers, but a place where it is possible to revisit stories, our ones, the intimate, forgotten ones - in fact an unfamiliar place into which the spectator can enter. Theater needs to carry in itself its counterpart, its paradox : "to be or not to be", to be one thing and at the same time something else. For example, when Cézanne paints apples and says "It is with an apple that I want to amaze Paris", his subject is not the apple. His subject is painting. The same goes for theater. It is not the story we are actually attached to, but the theater itself."

Éric Vigner

*1988: '' La Place royale'' by Pierre Corneille, CNSAD, Paris *1991: ''La Maison d'os'' by Roland Dubillard, Festival d'Automne,

Grande Arche La Grande Arche de la Défense (; "The Great Arch of the Defense"), originally called La Grande Arche de la Fraternité (; "Fraternity"), is a monument and building in the business district of La Défense and in the commune of Puteaux, to the west ...

de la Défense, Paris *1992: ''Le Régiment de Sambre et Meuse'' based on the works of

Alphonse Allais Alphonse Allais (20 October 1854 – 28 October 1905) was a French writer, journalist and humorist. Life Allais was born in Honfleur, Calvados (department), Calvados. He died in Paris. Work He is the author of many collections of whimsical writ ...

Louis-Ferdinand Céline Louis Ferdinand Auguste Destouches (27 May 1894 – 1 July 1961), better known by the pen name Louis-Ferdinand Céline ( , ) was a French novelist, polemicist and physician. His first novel ''Journey to the End of the Night'' (1932) won the '' Pr ...

, Jean Genet, Roland Dubillard, Georges Courteline, Franz Marc, Quartz

Brest Brest may refer to: Places *Brest, Belarus **Brest Region **Brest Airport **Brest Fortress * Brest, Kyustendil Province, Bulgaria * Břest, Czech Republic *Brest, France ** Arrondissement of Brest **Brest Bretagne Airport ** Château de Brest *Br ...

*1993: ''La Pluie d'été'' by

, Masterclass CNSAD, Quartz Brest, National and International Tour *1993: ''Le soir de l'Obériou - Elizavieta Bam'' by

Daniil Charms Daniil Ivanovich Kharms (russian: Дании́л Ива́нович Хармс; – 2 February 1942) was an early Soviet-era Russian avant-gardist and absurdist poet, writer and dramatist. Early years Kharms was born as Daniil Yuvache ...

, Theater Laboratory Anatoli Vasiliev, Moscow *1994: ''Le Jeune Homme'' by Jean Audureau, Théâtre de la Commune Aubervilliers *1994: ''Reviens à toi (encore)'' (Looking at you (Revived) Again) by Grégory Motton, Odéon Theatre, Paris *1995: ''Bajazet'' by

Jean Racine Jean-Baptiste Racine ( , ) (; 22 December 163921 April 1699) was a French dramatist, one of the three great playwrights of 17th-century France, along with Molière and Corneille as well as an important literary figure in the Western traditi ...

, Created at the

Comédie-Française The Comédie-Française () or Théâtre-Français () is one of the few state theatres in France. Founded in 1680, it is the oldest active theatre company in the world. Established as a French state-controlled entity in 1995, it is the only state ...

, Paris *1996: '' L'Illusion comique'' by Pierre Corneille, CDDB - Théâtre de Lorient, National Tour *1996: ''Brancusi contre États-Unis, un procès historique, 1928'', adapted for the stage by Éric Vigner, 50th

, Centre Georges Pompidou, Tribunal de Pau *1998: ''Toi cour, moi jardin'' by Jacques Rebotier, CDDB - Théâtre de Lorient *1998: '' Marion Delorme (Hugo)'' by

, Théâtre de la Ville, Paris, National Tour *1998: '' La Douleur'' (The War) by

, CDDB - Théâtre de Lorient *1999: ''

L'École des femmes ''The School for Wives'' (french: L'école des femmes; ) is a theatrical comedy written by the seventeenth century French playwright Molière and considered by some critics to be one of his finest achievements. It was first staged at the Palai ...

'' (

The School for Wives ''The School for Wives'' (french: L'école des femmes; ) is a theatrical comedy written by the seventeenth century French playwright Molière and considered by some critics to be one of his finest achievements. It was first staged at the Palai ...

) by Molière, Comédie-Française, Paris *2000: '' Rhinocéros'' by Eugène Ionesco, CDDB - Théâtre de Lorient *2001: ''La Bête dans la jungle'' '' The Beast in the Jungle'', adapted by

, CDDB - Théâtre de Lorient, Espace Go, Montreal, John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts *2002: ''Savannah Bay'' by

, Comédie-Française, Paris, Nationale Tour *2003: ''...Où boivent les vaches'' by Roland Dubillard, CDDB - Théâtre de Lorient, Théâtre du Rond-Point, Paris, Nationale Tour *2004: ''Le Jeu du kwi-jok'' ou ''

Le Bourgeois gentilhomme ''Le Bourgeois gentilhomme'' (, translated as ''The Bourgeois Gentleman'', ''The Middle-Class Aristocrat'', or ''The Would-Be Noble'') is a five-act ''comédie-ballet'' – a play intermingled with music, dance and singing – written by Molière ...

'' (''The Bourgeois Gentleman'') by Molière and Jean-Baptiste Lully, National Theater of Korea in

Seoul Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) as stated iArticle 103 of ...

, Opéra-Comique, Paris *2006: ''Pluie d'été à Hiroshima'', based on the works of

''La Pluie d'été'' and ''

Hiroshima mon amour ''Hiroshima mon amour'' (, lit. , ), is a 1959 romantic drama film directed by French director Alain Resnais and written by French author Marguerite Duras. Resnais' first feature-length work, it was a co-production between France and Japan, an ...

'', 60th Festival d'Avignon, Cloître des Carmes, National Tour. *2007: ''Jusqu'à ce que la mort nous sépare''by Rémi De Vos, Théâtre du Rond-Point, Paris *2007: ''

Le Barbier de Séville ''The Barber of Seville or the Useless Precaution'' (french: Le Barbier de Séville ou la Précaution inutile) is a French play by Pierre Beaumarchais, with original music by Antoine-Laurent Baudron. It was initially conceived as an opéra comi ...

'' (''

The Barber of Seville ''The Barber of Seville, or The Useless Precaution'' ( it, Il barbiere di Siviglia, ossia L'inutile precauzione ) is an ''opera buffa'' in two acts composed by Gioachino Rossini with an Italian libretto by Cesare Sterbini. The libretto was based ...

'') by Pierre Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais,

National Theater of Albania National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, c ...

Tirana Tirana ( , ; aln, Tirona) is the capital and largest city of Albania. It is located in the centre of the country, enclosed by mountains and hills with Dajti rising to the east and a slight valley to the northwest overlooking the Adriatic Sea ...

*2007: ''Savannah Bay'' by Marguerite Duras, created at Théâtre Espace Go,

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple ...

*2007: ''Débrayage'' by Rémi De Vos, CDDB - Théâtre de Lorient *2008: ''In the Solitude of Cotton Fields'' by

, 7 Stages Theater in

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

*2008: ''Othello'' by

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

, CDDB - Théâtre de Lorient, Odéon Theatre, Paris *2009: ''Sextett'' by Rémi De Vos, CDDB - Théâtre de Lorient, Théâtre du Rond-Point, Paris, Espace Go, Montreal *2010: ''Le Barbier de Séville'' (''The Barber of Seville'') by Pierre Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais *2011: ''La Place Royale'' by Pierre Corneille, CDDB - Théâtre de Lorient *2011: ''Guantanamo'' by Frank Smith, Centre Dramatique National Orléans/Loiret/Centre *2012: ''La Faculté'' by Christophe Honoré, Festival d'Avignon *2013: ''Gates to India Song'', based on the works of Marguerite Duras '' India Song'' and ''Le Vice-Consul'', Festival Bonjour India,

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders ...

(Residence de France (ambassade));

Kolkata Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , the official name until 2001) is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal, on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary business, comme ...

(Tagore House,

Rabindra Bharati University Rabindra Bharati University is a public research university in Kolkata, India. It was founded on May 8, 1962, under the Rabindra Bharati Act of the Government of West Bengal in 1961, to mark the birth centenary of the poet Rabindranath Tagore. ...

);

Mumbai Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' fin ...

(Prithvi Theatre et NCPA) *2014: ''Tristan'' by Éric Vigner *2015: '' L'Illusion comique'' de

, CDDB-Théâtre de Lorient *2016: ''Brâncuși impotriva Americii'', Odeon Theater, Bukarest, Romania *2017: ''Lukrecia Borxhia'', by

, Albanian National Theater, Tirana *2018 : ''Partage de midi'' by

Paul Claudel Paul Claudel (; 6 August 1868 – 23 February 1955) was a French poet, dramatist and diplomat, and the younger brother of the sculptor Camille Claudel. He was most famous for his verse dramas, which often convey his devout Catholicism. Early lif ...

, Théâtre National de Strasbourg *2019 : ''Partage de midi'' by

Théâtre de la Ville (meaning the City Theatre) is one of the two theatres built in the 19th century by Baron Haussmann at Place du Châtelet, Paris, the other being the Théâtre du Châtelet. It is located at 2, place du Châtelet in the 4th arrondissement. Incl ...

, Paris, Festival Croisements, Chine

Opera productions

*2000: ''La Didone'', opera by Francesco Cavalli, musical director

Christophe Rousset Christophe Rousset (; born 12 April 1961) is a French harpsichordist and conductor, who specializes in the performance of Baroque music on period instruments. He is also a musicologist, particularly of opera and European music of the 17th and 1 ...

Montpellier Opera Montpellier (, , ; oc, Montpelhièr ) is a city in southern France near the Mediterranean Sea. One of the largest urban centres in the region of Occitania, Montpellier is the prefecture of the department of Hérault. In 2018, 290,053 people l ...

*2003: ''L'Empio punito'', opera by

Alessandro Melani Alessandro Melani (4 February 1639 – 3 October 1703) was an Italian composer and the brother of composer Jacopo Melani, and castrato singer Atto Melani. Along with Bernardo Pasquini and Alessandro Scarlatti, he was one of the leading composers ...

, musical director Christophe Rousset,

Leipzig Opera The Leipzig Opera (in German: ) is an opera house and opera company located at the Augustusplatz and the Inner City Ring Road at its east side in Leipzig's district Mitte, Germany. History Performances of opera in Leipzig trace back to Sing ...

*2004: ''Antigona'', opera by

Tommaso Traetta Tommaso Michele Francesco Saverio Traetta (30 March 1727 – 6 April 1779) was an Italian composer of the Neapolitan School. Along with other composers mainly in the Holy Roman Empire and France, he was responsible for certain operatic r ...

, Chatelet Theatre, Paris *2013: ''Orlando'', opera by George Frideric Handel, musical director Jean-Christophe Spinosi, Théâtre de Lorient.

Scenic designs

*1983: ''L'instruction'' by

Peter Weiss Peter Ulrich Weiss (8 November 1916 – 10 May 1982) was a German writer, painter, graphic artist, and experimental filmmaker of adopted Swedish nationality. He is particularly known for his plays ''Marat/Sade'' and ''The Investigation'' and hi ...

, directed by Robert Angebaud *1984: ''La Casa Nova'' by

Carlo Goldoni Carlo is a given name. It is an Italian form of Charles. It can refer to: * Carlo (name) * Monte Carlo * Carlingford, New South Wales, a suburb in north-west Sydney, New South Wales, Australia *A satirical song written by Dafydd Iwan about Prince ...

, directed by Robert Angebaud *1984: ''Peinture-sur-Bois'' by Ingmar Bergman, directed by François Kergoulay *1985: ''Pusuda Le Guetteur'' by Cahit Atay, directed by François Kergourlay *1986: ''La Place royale'' by Pierre Corneille *1990: ''La Maison d'os'' by Roland Dubillard *1992: ''Le Régiment de Sambre et Meuse'' based on the works of Alphonse Allais, Louis-Ferdinand Céline, Jean Genet, Roland Dubillard, Georges Courteline, Franz Marc *1993: ''La Pluie d'été'' by Marguerite Duras *1993: ''Le soir de l'Obériou - Elizavieta Bam'' by

*1994: ''Le Jeune Homme'' by Jean Audureau *1994: ''Reviens à toi (encore)'' by Grégory Motton *1996: ''L'Illusion comique'' by Pierre Corneille *2000: ''Rhinocéros'' by Eugène Ionesco *2000: ''La Didone'', opera composed by Francesco Cavalli, musical director Christophe Rousset *2001: ''La Bête dans la jungle'' adapted by

, based on the play by James Lord and the novel by

Henry James Henry James ( – ) was an American-British author. He is regarded as a key transitional figure between literary realism and literary modernism, and is considered by many to be among the greatest novelists in the English language. He was the ...

*2002: ''Savannah Bay'' by Marguerite Duras *2003: ''...Où boivent les vaches'' by Roland Dubillard *2003: ''L'Empio punito'', opera by

, musical director Christophe Rousset *2004: ''Le Jeu du kwi-jok'' ou ''Le Bourgeois gentilhomme'' by Molière, music by Jean-Baptiste Lully *2004: ''Place des Héros'' (Heldenplatz) by

Thomas Bernhard Nicolaas Thomas Bernhard (; 9 February 1931 – 12 February 1989) was an Austrian novelist, playwright and poet who explored death, social injustice, and human misery in controversial literature that was deeply pessimistic about modern civilizat ...

, directed by at the Comédie-Française *2007: ''Jusqu'à ce que la mort nous sépare'' by Rémi De Vos *2007: ''

'' (''

'') by Pierre Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais *2007: ''Savannah Bay'' by

*2007: ''Débrayage'' by Rémi De Vos *2008: ''In the Solitude of Cotton Fields'' by Bernard-Marie Koltès *2008: ''Othello'' by William Shakespeare *2009: ''Sextett'' by Rémi De Vos *2010: ''

'' (''

'') by Pierre Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais *2011: ''La Place Royale'' by Pierre Corneille *2011: ''Guantanamo'' by Frank Smith *2012: ''La Faculté'' by Christophe Honoré *2013: ''Gates to India Song'', based on the works of

'' India Song'' and ''Le Vice-Consul'', Festival Bonjour India,

(Residence de France (ambassade));

(Tagore House, Rabindra Bharati University); Mumbai (Prithvi Theatre et NCPA) *2013: ''Orlando'', opera composed by George Frideric Handel, musical director Jean-Christophe Spinosi, Théâtre de Lorient *2014: "Tristan" by Éric Vigner *2017: ''Lukrecia Borxhia'', by

, Albanian National Theater, Tirana *2018 : ''Partage de midi'' by

, Théâtre National de Strasbourg

The Academy

*2011 : ''La Place Royale'' by Pierre Corneille, CDDB-Théâtre de Lorient *2011 : ''Guantanamo'' by Frank Smith, Centre Dramatique National d'Orléans *2012 : ''La Faculté'' by Christophe Honoré, Cours du Lycée Mistral,

Decorations

* Officer of the Order of Arts and Letters (2015)

References

External links

Introduction works Éric Vigner

Éric Vigner's archives
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vigner, Eric Living people Scenic design Breton artists French scenic designers French theatre directors French opera directors 1960 births French National Academy of Dramatic Arts alumni Officiers of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres